Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo is a villa

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

situated near the Tuscan

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

town of Barberino di Mugello

Barberino di Mugello

Barberino di Mugello is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 25 km north of Florence. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 10,114 and an area of 133.7 km²....

in the valley of the River Sieve, some 25 kilometres north of Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, central Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It was one of the oldest and most favoured of the Medici

Medici

The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...

family estates, having been in the possession of the family since the 14th century, when it was owned by Averardo de' Medici

Averardo de' Medici

Averardo de' Medici was the son of Chiarissimo de' Medici and the father of two children: Giovanni and Francesco. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici would later become the first historically relevant member of Medici family of Florence and the eventual founder of the Medici bank.-External links:***...

. Averardo's son, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici

Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was an Italian banker, the first historically relevant member of Medici family of Florence, and the founder of the Medici bank...

, is considered to be the founder of the Medici

Medici

dynasty.

The villa

Villa

was reconstructed following designs of the eminent Renaissance architect

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

Michelozzo in 1452, becoming a meeting place for some of the greatest intellectuals of the Italian Renaissance

Italian Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...

. The villa is located in the Mugello region

Mugello region

Mugello is a landscape north of Florence in northern Italy. It is separated by the Santerno river valley by the Futa Pass.The area was settled by a Ligurian tribe known as the Magelli, whence the name. Then the region was occupied by the Etruscans who have left many archeological traces and who...

, the area which was the homeland of the Medici. Although by no means the grandest or largest of their many houses, they visited it often: as a consequence, the villa was the scene of many momentous events in the history of the dynasty, ranging from the reception of Medici brides to the murder of a Medici wife.

History

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Tuscan aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

, who had forsaken their medieval castles for the political expediency, comfort and greater security of town life, developed an aesthetic awareness which necessitated the seasonal occupation of a country retreat. The new humanist

Renaissance humanism

Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...

values they sought could be found in an attractive country setting, enhanced by a garden. The first of these villas were built by the Medici family, whose affluence coincided with the beginning of the Renaissance period, circa 1420. The builder of Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo was Cosimo de' Medici

Cosimo de' Medici

Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...

, whose villa at Careggi

Villa Medici at Careggi

The Villa Medici at Careggi is a patrician villa in the hills near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy.-History:The villa was among the first of a number of Medici villas, notable as the site of the Platonic academy founded by Cosimo de' Medici, who died at the villa in 1464...

is considered to be the model for the Renaissance villas of Florence. These early villas as in the case at both Careggi and Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo were the result of the complete rebuilding of existing Medici castles.

The Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo's origins date from the 14th century. The fortezza that belonged to the Republic of Florence

Republic of Florence

The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...

in 1349 was already known as "Cafaggiolo de' Medici by 1359, when it was the property of Averardo de' Medici

Averardo de' Medici

(died 1363). It passed from Giovanni di Bicci jointly to Averardo and Giuliano di Francesco de' Medici, the grandsons of Averardo's younger son Lorenzo; from them, it passed to Cosimo and Lorenzo jointly; and it was ceded to Cosimo's sole ownership in a property division of 1451.

In the following year, 1452, Averardo de' Medici's grandson Cosimo de' Medici

Cosimo de' Medici

(known as Cosimo the Elder - the first of the Medici to combine leadership of the family bank with governing the Republic of Florence

Republic of Florence

) commissioned his favourite architect Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (usually known simply as "Michelozzo") to redesign his fortress as a more comfortable country retreat, which could be used for hunting. It was to be one of four villas built by Cosimo, the others being Careggi, Villa Mozzi and Villa Trebbia. Michelozzo had already designed the Medici's town palazzo

Palazzo

Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...

in Florence, the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, and Cosimo's new villa at Careggi. The architect transformed the forbidding fortress into a castellated country house - in effect, the castle became a villa

Villa

.

After the death of Cosimo de' Medici in 1464, the villa became a hunting lodge of his son Piero

Piero di Cosimo de' Medici

Piero di Cosimo de' Medici , , was the de facto ruler of Florence from 1464 to 1469, during the Italian Renaissance. He was the father of Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano de' Medici-Biography:Piero was born in Florence, the son of Cosimo de' Medici the Elder and Contessina de' Bardi...

. Piero was succeeded in 1469 by his son Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...

(known as "il Magnifico"), and it became his favourite residence. Frequently occupied both winter and summer, it became a meeting place for the great intellectuals of the day, who came either for the many parties dedicated to hunting, or merely to entertain the court with their learning - for example, Luigi Pulci

Luigi Pulci

Luigi Pulci was an Italian poet best known for his Morgante, an epic story of a giant who is converted to Christianity and follows the knight Orlando....

is known to have read aloud his Morgante
Morgante
Morgante, sometimes also called Morgante Maggiore , is an Italian romantic epic by Luigi Pulci which appeared in its final form in 1483 .Based...

there. Lorenzo composed many of his songs at Cafaggiolo, and entertained such worthies as Marsilio Ficino

Marsilio Ficino

Marsilio Ficino was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, an astrologer, a reviver of Neoplatonism who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin...

and his most faithful friends, Poliziano

Poliziano

Angelo Ambrogini, commonly known by his nickname, anglicized as Politian, Italian Poliziano, Latin Politianus was an Italian Renaissance classical scholar and poet, one of the revivers of Humanist Latin...

and Pico della Mirandola.

From 1476 onwards, Lorenzo il Magnifico needed to raise funds, the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

having seized many of his assets. He borrowed from his cousins, with the eventual result that ownership of the villa was transferred after protracted negotiations to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco and his brother Giovanni in 1485. Cafaggiolo thus passed for a time to the younger branch of the Medici— who established the manufacture of maiolica

Maiolica

Maiolica is Italian tin-glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance. It is decorated in bright colours on a white background, frequently depicting historical and legendary scenes.-Name:...

in the villa's outbuildings— until all the Medici holdings were once more reassembled in the hands of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Cosimo I de' Medici was Duke of Florence from 1537 to 1574, reigning as the first Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1569.-Biography:...

.

The Medici Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

Leo X

Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...

, formerly (Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici) spent a part of his childhood at the castle, and briefly held court at the villa on 15 December 1515, on his return from his secret talks with Francis I

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

at Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, in which it was said that he had played a double game in his efforts to drive the French out of Italy.

In 1576, the castle was the scene of the murder of a Medici wife. Neglected by her husband, Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo

Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo

Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo , more often known as "Leonora" or "Dianora", was the daughter of García Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Marquis of Villafranca, Duke of Fernandina, and the wife of Don Pietro de' Medici, a son of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany...

, the wife of Pietro de' Medici, had been conducting an illicit love affair with Bernardino Antinori, a young nobleman. Their affair came to light when Antinori killed a fellow noble, Francesco Ginori, in self-defence. Antinori confessed to his crime and was banished to Elba

Elba

Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...

by Eleonora's brother-in-law, Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 to 1587.- Biography :...

. From Elba, Antinori recklessly sent love letter

Love letter

A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Delivered by hand, by mail or romantically left in a secret location, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation of feelings...

s to Eleonora. These letters fell into the hands of the Grand Duke, who promptly had Antinori executed to preserve the family's honour. On July 11, 1576, Pietro the cuckold

Cuckold

Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...

ed husband summoned his wife to the castle, where he strangled her with a dog leash. Reports of the murder were suppressed and it was reported she had died of a heart attack. Eleonora was buried with the full pomp and honours usually accorded a member of the Medici family in the Medici Chapel

Medici Chapel

The Medici Chapels is a structure in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy. It comprises two structures added to Brunelleschi's original design, each intended to celebrate the power of the Medici as Grand Dukes of Tuscany. One is the Sagrestia Nuova, the "New Sacristy", designed by...

(the family mausoleum

Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

) at the Basilica di San Lorenzo. Her homicidal husband was sent from the Florentine court to the court of Spain until his own death in 1604.

In 1737, on the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici

Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Gian Gastone de' Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the second son of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, Princess of France...

, the last Medici ruler of Tuscany, Cafaggiolo came into the possession of the Medici's successors, the house of House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

, in the person of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...

. As the consort of the future Empress Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

, he seldom visited Tuscany, remaining in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

That the villa at Cafaggiolo was a favoured home of the Medici is without doubt, if only because it survived as a Medici residence for far longer than many of their other homes: the great Palazzo Vecchio, their seat of power, was subsequently vacated in 1587 for the Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti

The Palazzo Pitti , in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio...

. Cosimo de' Medici's other villa by Michelozzo, Villa Trebbia, was sold in 1644 by Ferdinand II

Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ferdinando II de' Medici was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest child of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. His 49 year rule was punctuated by the terminations of the remaining operations of the Medici Bank, and the beginning of Tuscany's long economic...

to Giuliano Serragli for 113,500 scudo

Italian scudo

The scudo was the name for a number of coins used in Italy until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin scutum . From the 16th century, the name was used in Italy for large silver coins...

s.
In 1864, the castle was sold by the Italian Government to Prince Marcantonio Borghese. Borghese carried out a vast rebuilding program, altering much of Michelozzo's design. The new designs swept away remaining fortifications such as the moat and enceinte

Enceinte

Enceinte , is a French term used technically in fortification for the inner ring of fortifications surrounding a town or a concentric castle....

walls, while the interior was redecorated in a more ancient, medievalizing style.

Architecture

Unlike many of the Tuscan residences created by the Medici family, Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo does not adhere to ideals of Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture

. This cannot be attributed to its date of 1452, the year Michelozzo was charged with transforming the building from castle to villa. The first true Renaissance building, the Ospedale degli Innocenti

Ospedale degli Innocenti

The Ospedale degli Innocenti is a historical building in Florence, central Italy. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in 1419, it was originally a children's orphanage. It is regarded as a notable example of early Italian Renaissance architecture...

in Florence, had been designed as early as 1419, and Michelozzo had proved his understanding of the new form in 1444 with his design for the ten-sided

Decagon

In geometry, a decagon is any polygon with ten sides and ten angles, and usually refers to a regular decagon, having all sides of equal length and each internal angle equal to 144°...

extension to Florence's Chiesa della SS. Annunziata

Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze

The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence, Italy, the mother church of the Servite order. It is located at the northeastern side of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata....

inspired by a plan from the Roman temple of Minerva Medica

Minerva

Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...

. and between 1444 and 1460 he constructed the first of the 15th century Renaissance palazzos, the Medici-Riccardi for Cosimo de' Medici. This palazzo provides another possible reason for the conservative design of the castle - Cosimo had been heavily criticised in Florence by the Florentine nobility for what was considered the pretentious design of the more Renaissance Palazzo Medici-Riccardi.

The style of villas's architecture was a deliberate retrospective quattrocento

Quattrocento

The cultural and artistic events of 15th century Italy are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento...

- a style and period which combined both the Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

and classical

Classical architecture

Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...

styles, and a period of transformation which was the birth of the Renaissance, perhaps best exemplified by Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. He is perhaps most famous for inventing linear perspective and designing the dome of the Florence Cathedral, but his accomplishments also included bronze artwork, architecture , mathematics,...

's dome of Florence Cathedral, begun in 1417. The dome, in itself, a classical feature, is Gothic in its use of the pointed arch, but rises to a classical oculus

Oculus

An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...

. or put simply "Gothic in form but Renaissance in detail". In style, the castle resembled the Palazzo Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio

The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany...

, the Medici's older Florentine residence, to which Michelozzo was also making alterations while the castle was being built.

Thus, at first glance, the architecture of Castello Mediceo di Cafaggiolo appears that of a medieval castle rather than a villa, with a crenellated tower at the front flanked by two battlement

Battlement

A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...

ed wings, reinforced with bastions at each corner. These Gothic and Renaissance features were not included by Michelozzo to retain older features from the earlier fortress but, 33 years after the commencement of Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti, as a deliberate motif intended to fulfil the humanist

Renaissance humanism

need that a villa should be "a place for the spirit to rest" which was compatible with the buildings intended use a country retreat and hunting lodge. Its machicolation

Machicolation

A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was developed in the Middle Ages when the Norman crusaders returned. A machicolated battlement...

s and crenelations, in reality no more than a projecting crenelated pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

, supported by small arches and corbel

Corbel

In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...

s, were only intended for decoration, not defence. That is not to say that the villas was completely undefended, and this is apparent in the architecture. The political climate of the period required all noble houses to be semi-fortified; so, just as in the design of the first great urban palazzi, the ground floor was "a defended courtyard surrounded by guardrooms and quarters for men at arms". This structure dictated the fenestration

Window

A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...

: the windows are few, small and high from the ground on the lower floor, while those on the upper floors, occupied by the household proper, were larger and more plentiful. Utens' 1599 painting shows nothing in the way of outer defences and fortifications: a moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

is known to have existed, probably one of the few feature retained from the older fortress.

The view (above) painted by Giusto/Gustav Utens in 1599 shows the villa as completed by Michelozzo. Built around a courtyard, the front appears much as it is does today, but with a larger tower dominating the building at the rear. It is possible that this tower (now demolished) was retained from the older fortress. A similar tower exists at another Medici villa

Medici villas

The Medici villas are a series of rural building complexes near Florence which were owned by members of the Medici family between the 15th century and the 17th century. The villas served several functions: they were the country palaces of the Medici, scattered over the territory that they ruled,...

, Villa La Petraia

Villa La Petraia

The Villa La Petraia is one of the Medici villas in Castello, near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy.It has a distinctive 19th century Belvedere on the upper east terrace on axis with the view of Florence- External links :...

, which Bernardo Buontalenti

Bernardo Buontalenti

Bernardo Buontalenti, byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer and artist.-Biography:Buontalenti was born in Florence....

retained in 1575 when converting that villa from an earlier fortress, for Francesco de' Medici

Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 to 1587.- Biography :...

Gardens

Just as Renaissance architecture looked back to the classical civilizations, so did Renaissance garden design. The gardens of Renaissance were terraced with ilex grove

Grove (nature)

A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts...

s and walks bordered with myrtle and statuary, just like those of the ancient Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. To the humanist Renaissance noble, the gardens were of equal importance as the villa. The hallmarks of Renaissance architecture were symmetry, balance and precise proportions, and if the Villa Medicea di Cafaggiolo itself did not quite meet these demands, its gardens certainly did. Renaissance principles were strictly applied to the garden's design: during this era a garden came to be viewed as an extension of the house itself and as such was arranged in the same order. Statuary and seating were placed much as it was within the house - lining compartmentalised sections, the sections representing rooms and halls. Grotto

Grotto

A grotto is any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide...

es provided not only protection from the sun but a setting for allegorical scenes depicted in statuary and water. At Cafaggiolo, the greatest sculptors of the day were employed on the creation of the fountains, grottoes and statuary, including Tribolo, Vasari and Buontalenti, who created sculptured tableaux depicting scenes in stone conceived by Benedetto Varchi

Benedetto Varchi

Benedetto Varchi was an Italian humanist, a historian and poet.-Biography:Born in Florence to a family that had originated at Montevarchi, he frequented the neoplatonic academy that Bernardo Rucellai organized in his garden, the Orti Oricellari; there, in spite of the fact that Rucellai was...

.

Utens' view of the villa in 1599 also shows another popular garden feature of the era - water. Often a scarce commodity, when water was available, it was piped to fountains and cascades

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

- providing not only the obvious irrigation, but also movement and sound. The presence of water also permitted the greatest luxury in a Tuscan garden, green grass. This symbol of luxury was usually planted only near the house where it could be constantly admired. Topiary

Topiary

Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...

and hedging, which demanded less moisture, was used in preference to colourful planting, providing the seclusion necessary to divide the garden into compartmentalised sections, and also shade and living green statuary. Thus, the Renaissance garden became as much as symbol of the owner's wealth and culture as his house or art collection.

Cafaggiolo maiolica

The long outbuilding to the left of the castle in the image above was known as the Manica Lunga, the "long wing"; this building was used for the manufacture of the tin-glazed earthenware known as maiolica

Maiolica

Maiolica is Italian tin-glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance. It is decorated in bright colours on a white background, frequently depicting historical and legendary scenes.-Name:...

. The 1498 inventory notes that the fornaze col portico da cuocere vaselle ("kilns for baking pottery") in the piazza murata (walled enclosure) were let to Piero and Stefano foraxari, the "kilnmasters" of the maiolica manufactory for which Cafaggiolo is famed. These are Piero and Stefano di Filippo da Montelupo

Montelupo Fiorentino

Montelupo Fiorentino is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 20 km southwest of Florence...

, who started up the kilns under Medici patronage in 1495.

Today

The castle is today privately owned by a business consortium, who let it for conferences, wedding parties and corporate events, while the precinct

Precinct

A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...

s and outbuildings have been converted to apartments.

History

Architecture

Gardens

Cafaggiolo maiolica

Today

Further reading